AI Firm's 'Stop Hiring Humans' Billboard Campaign Sparks Outrage

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People are predictably unhappy about being told they don't deserve jobs.
Gizmodo
By Lucas Ropek Published December 10, 2024


In San Francisco, the heart of Silicon Valley, an AI startup called Artisan has spent an untold sum blitzing the city with an advertising campaign that dispenses with the need for humanity. Artisan’s tagline: “Stop Hiring Humans

“Artisans won’t complain about work-life balance”
“Artisan’s Zoom cameras will never ‘not be working’ today.”
“Hire Artisans, not humans.”
“The era of AI employees is here.”

… Yes, grim stuff. At first glance, you might wonder who the target audience for these billboards is. After all, the billboards will mostly be viewed by humans, and, as far as can be discerned, most humans enjoy being employed. As such, it’s a media campaign that would seem to discriminate against its core audience. Yet beneath the initial ridiculousness of it all, there is an obvious explanation: the ads are designed to make people mad and, thus, grab headlines.

In an interview with SFGate, the company’s CEO, Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, defended his company’s decision to advertise its product by promoting the end of the human labor force. “They are somewhat dystopian, but so is AI,” the CEO told the outlet, of the ads. “The way the world works is changing.” He added: “We wanted something that would draw eyes — you don’t draw eyes with boring messaging.”

https://gizmodo.com/ai-firms-stop-hiring-humans-billboard-campaign-sparks-outrage-2000536368